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Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship

Applications for the 2015 Conable Conference Scholarship are now closed. The recipient will be announced in April or May.

If you have questions please contact Jonathan Kelley at (312) 280-4226 or jokelley@ala.org.

What is the Conable Conference Scholarship?

The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) offers an annual scholarship for library school students and new professionals to attend ALA's Annual Conference. The goal of the Gordon M. Conable Conference Scholarship is to advance two principles that Gordon held dear: intellectual freedom and mentoring.

The Conable Scholarship provides for conference registration, transportation, housing for six nights, and a $300 stipend for meals and other expenses. The recipient also will receive a one-year membership in the Freedom to Read Foundation. In return, the recipient will be expected to attend various FTRF and other intellectual freedom meetings and programs at conference, consult with a mentor/board member, and present a report about their experiences and thoughts.

The 2015 ALA Annual Conference will be held June 25-30 in San Francisco, CA.

The Conable Scholarship is supported entirely by your contributions. To make a donation to the Conable Fund, please click here or call us at (312) 280-4226.

Note: If the recipient is already registered for ALA’s Annual Conference, he or she will have their conference fee refunded.

The conference scholarship winner will be expected to arrive in San Francisco on Wednesday, June 24 and stay through Monday afternoon, June 29 or Tuesday, June 30.

How to apply

The application requires a resume, two references, and an essay of up to 500 words describing your interest in intellectual freedom issues and how you will use your attendance at an ALA conference to further your interest in intellectual freedom during and after the conference. Your resume should include your education, work history, and volunteer experience.

Application deadline: Applications for the 2015 Conable Conference Scholarship are now closed. The winner will be announced in April or May 2015.

Applications for the 2016 Conable Conference Scholarship will open in February 2016.

Who was Gordon M. Conable?

Gordon Conable was a California librarian and intellectual freedom champion who served several terms as president of the Freedom to Read Foundation. His unexpected death in 2005 inspired his wife and the FTRF board to create the Conable Fund, which provides funding for the Conable Scholarship.

Gordon was executive vice president for public libraries at Library Systems and Services (LSSI) in Riverside, CA. He was responsible for management and performance of LSSI's public library contracts, including the 30-branch Riverside County, CA system. He also served as director of the Monroe County (MI) Library System from 1988-1998; during his tenure there, he withstood an intense controversy over Madonna's book Sex. Before that he was associate director of the Fort Vancouver Regional Library in Washington. For his efforts, Conable was a recipient of the Freedom to Read Foundation Roll of Honor Award and the John Phillip Immroth Memorial Award for "intellectual freedom fighters." In 1994 he was the first librarian recognized as Michigan's Public Administrator of the Year.